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PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Junior quarterback John Robertson (Paramus, N.J.) needed less than 20 minutes of game time to tie a career high with four touchdown passes and No. 5 Villanova (3-1) rolled to a 41-7 victory over Penn (0-2) in the annual meeting between the teams at Franklin Field on Saturday afternoon. The win was the third in a row for the Wildcats, who have matched a program record by scoring 140 points in their last three contests.

All of the scoring in the game came in the first 23 minutes and Villanova scored on six of its first seven possessions in the rout. Robertson threw touchdown passes to four different receivers in the first 18:57 of the contest and finished the day 15-of-21 for 230 yards despite only playing the first half. He has now thrown four touchdown passes in a game three times in his career, including in back-to-back games.

Senior tight end Earnest Pettway (Long Beach, Calif.) caught a 36-yard pass for a touchdown just over two minutes into the contest and senior wide receiver Poppy Livers (Seaside, Calif.) scored on a nine-yard pass six minutes later. The lead was pushed to 21-0 with 3:32 to play in the opening period on a 54-yard touchdown run by junior running back Gary Underwood (Cincinnati, Ohio).

In the second quarter, Robertson connected for touchdowns with junior wide receivers Mike Burke (Columbia, Pa.) and Kevin Gulyas (Allentown, Pa.), while a 14-yard scoring run by Underwood with 6:13 left before halftime closed the scoring in the game. Underwood ran for a career-high 93 yards on just six carries and the Wildcats had five different players run for at least 45 yards en route to a 317-yard rushing day. Gulyas caught five passes for a career-high 123 yards while notching his first game with 100 receiving yards, while Livers also caught five passes on the day.

Villanova racked up 567 yards of total offense and has now gained 1,644 yards in the past three weeks. During their three-game winning streak, the Wildcats are averaging 46.7 points per game and have a +32.0 scoring margin. In the three-game stretch, Robertson is a sensation 54-of-72 (75.0%) for 783 yards and 11 touchdowns. He has now completed 70.7 percent (70-of-99) of his passes this season.

The defensive effort in the lopsided victory was just as impressive for Villanova, which forced three turnovers with two interceptions and a fumble recovery. Sophomore cornerback Jason Ceneus (New Rochelle, N.Y.) and senior safety Jerry Miles (Dublin, Ohio) each picked off Quakers quarterback Alek Torgersen and senior nose guard Pat Williams (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) recovered a fumble that was forced by junior linebacker Don Cherry (Trumbull, Conn.). Sophomore linebacker Austin Calitro (Danbury, Conn.) had a career-high eight tackles.

Nearly half of the Wildcats offensive production came in the first quarter alone. Villanova had 14 first downs on 27 plays in the opening period - compared with just two first downs for Penn - and picked up 265 total yards. Underwood ran for 65 yards on just three carries in the period, while senior running back Kevin Monangai (Roseland, N.J.) added 52 yards on eight carries. Robertson also ran for 30 yards in the quarter while going 9-of-12 for 118 yards through the air.

Monangai ran for 67 yards on the afternoon, while freshman running back Matt Gudzak (Toms River, N.J.) added 52 yards on 13 second-half carries. Robertson finished with 45 rushing yards in the game and senior quarterback Chris Polony (Whitehall, Pa.) rushed seven times for 46 yards in relief of Robertson in the second half. Polony also was 3-of-5 passing for 20 yards.

The three-game winning streak for the Wildcats began with a 50-6 win over Fordham on September 6 and also includes last week's 49-31 triumph over James Madison in the conference opener. Villanova will look to extend the streak to four games next Saturday when it visits Maine for a 12:30 p.m. kickoff.